Forecast by Jane Tara Page A

You an intern?”
    “No I … I might be doing the weather.”
    The guy smiled and thrust out his hand. “You’re Drew’s replacement? I’m Shin Higaki. The floor director. We’ll be working together.”
    Rowie shook his hand. “Rowie Shakespeare, nauseous beginner.”
    “You’ll be fine,” Shin said kindly.
    The doors opened on the main floor of the news center. It was already busy, despite being barely 8:00 a.m.
    “News doesn’t keep regular office hours. This is the first shift. We’ll be taking over from them,” Shin explained. “Who were you told to look for?”
    “The news director.”
    “Mac Roberts? First door on the left down that corridor,” said Shin. “I’ll see you round. Oh, and Rowie?”
    Rowie turned. “Yes?”
    “Remember to breathe.” Shin gave a wave and walked off in the opposite direction. Rowie headed towards Mac’s office and knocked on the door.”
    “Enter,” came the growl from inside.
    Rowie opened the door and noticed Jess seated on a couch.
    “Rowie,” Jess said, standing to greet her. “This is Mac.”
    Mac’s eyes narrowed as he examined Rowie. She was gorgeous, but in a wholesome way. She certainly didn’t look like a whack-job. “Good to meet you, Rowie. I’ve heard great things about you. Take a seat.”
    Mac was short, stocky, with a mop of grey hair, a goatee and tattoos poking out his rolled up shirtsleeves. He looked more like an aging biker than the news director at the nation’s top television station.
    “So, Rowie, damn good to have you on board.”
    Rowie smiled. He was as rough as a Brazilian wax job, but she immediately liked him. “Thanks. I’m looking forward to it.”
    Mac explained a bit about the network, and what they expected from Rowie. “Networks have been using gimmicks for years to sell the weather. Admittedly, we’ve always used trained meteorologists at USBC, but this is only short term, so should work.” Mac glanced at Jess, as if to say, ‘And if it doesn’t, you’re to blame.’
    Jess jumped right in. “NBC has scouts trawling comedy shows looking for potential weather people. It’s the way of the future. Weather needs to be entertaining to be accessible.”
    Mac nodded. He didn’t disagree. Most people had the attention span of a goldfish nowadays. However, using a seasoned stand-up comedian was very different to transmitting a psychic into America’s living rooms.
    “I’m a bit nervous,” Rowie admitted. This is such an important network and I …”
    Mac interupted. “Don’t think of it in those terms. You’re not batting for the whole of USBC. This is the New York station and we’re independently run. No pressure … well not much, anyway. Keep it simple and you’ll be fine.”
    Rowie smiled gratefully. “Thanks.”
    “Honestly Rowie,” offered Jess. “All you need to concentrate on is your spooky-wooky predictions.”
    Rowie smiled at Jess, but she felt uncomfortable. Jess seemed eager to work with her, yet every kind word, every compliment, had a dark underlying edge.
    “Allrighty,” said Mac. “I guess we’d better test you before we go any further. Jess will show you around, and then give you a bit of training on the studio floor. I’ve had the Chromakey and monitors turned on so you can rehearse. Jess will explain what they are. I’ll meet you down there.”
    Jess led Rowie out of Mac’s office and through the news center, pointing to rooms as they passed. “That’s the global weather center. Next to it are the extreme weather guys. You don’t need to worry about all that. I’ll give you a run-down each day, detailing which stories to cover.”
    “A run-down?”
    Jess spoke quickly. “Yes, like there’s been twenty inches of snow in Denver and a tornado in Kansas. Briefly touch on what’s happening nationally. The major stories. No one gives a shit about nice weather. Stick to that at the start of each segment, then do your little woo-woo thing.”
    Jess opened a door and motioned for